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Shelter Island Retreat

Architect and developer Cary Tamarkin designed and built his family’s summer home to face due southwest to capture prevailing breezes all summer long. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

The cottage appears to hover over Shelter Island, cantilevered on all sides on top of a foundation of spread concrete footings above a slight, rolling berm on three-quarters of an acre. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

No air conditioning is required. Instead, Tamarkin says he plays the house like an instrument – opening windows to take optimal advantage of the breezes straight off the waters of Long Island Sound. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

The porch is designed for living outdoors all summer long, and for parties and dinners with “a stable of friends who arrive announced and unannounced,” Tamarkin says. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

The exterior is clad in 100-year-old cypress meticulously crafted for the home by former shipbuilder George Velmachos of Wright and Company. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

Looking out to the water, the view peers back to Long Island with the Left Fork on its right, and the Right Fork just opposite. “It’s like a huge harbor with its outstretched arms around you,” Tamarkin says. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

Inside, the kitchen, dining and living areas are separated by breezeway from the master suite and the children’s bedrooms. “It’s small,” Cary said. “I wanted to design it, but not architect it.” Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

The kitchen is simple, functionally serving the needs of a family of four seeking to escape from New York’s Greenwich Village for days and weeks during the summer. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

Before he built the home, Cary climbed up ladders to ensure that each bedroom would be within earshot of the sound of the waves. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

Shelter Island is two-and-a-half hours from New York City, and is accessible only by a seven-minute ferry ride – just enough, Cary says, “to free you from the bonds of the city.” Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

The house was conceived as a summer home, to take advantage of the sounds, breezes, views and lighting – even in the shower. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.